1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a pet litter box and, more particularly, to a litter box assembly which provides for the easy collection and disposal of waste deposited therein.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
For various animals, particularly household cats, it is common to provide a box within which litter is maintained so that the animal may relieve itself in a generally sanitary manner. Such boxes usually take the form of low level, open containers within which the cat or other animal can readily enter when necessary. In the past, newspaper or another liner material would be placed in the bottom of the container and the litter would be placed atop this material. After a period of use, the entire contents of the box would be discarded and a new liner, as well as additional litter, would be placed in the box.
With the introduction of litter which forms clumps when placed in contact with urine and other forms of wet animal waste, it has become possible to filter out the waste such that the non-used litter remaining in the box can be retained. This represents a considerable savings as a fair percentage of the initial litter placed in the box remains useful even following prolonged periods between cleanings. This filtering operation can be performed in various ways. Commonly today, the clumped waste is simply manually scooped out of the box through the use of a hand held utensil such as a large spoon or strainer. Such a cleaning method results in the loss of a certain amount of untainted litter and is also generally frowned upon due to the close personal exposure to the waste.
To overcome this problem, it has been heretofore proposed to incorporate filter or screen arrangements as part of overall litter boxes. Such known arrangements include the use of one or more screens which are initially positioned below the litter but which can be readily lifted to collect the clumped waste while permitting the remaining, still useful litter to pass therethrough for future use Such an arrangement certainly represents a more appealing cleaning solution than the more conventional scooping method, however, either numerous screens must be provided or a problem is created in replacing the screen.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,402,751, a pet litter box is disclosed which provides for easy cleaning thereof and which only requires a single screen member. In accordance with this patented arrangement, a removable cover member is placed upon a litter containing base when cleaning is necessary. The entire litter box unit is then manually lifted and rotated to cause the contents of the box to flow into a pocket created in the cover member. This pocket is defined, at least in part, by a screen member which functions to collect the clumped waste and to return the useful litter back into the base. The cover member is then removed and separately emptied.
Although the litter box arrangement of U.S. Pat. No. 5,402,751 is considered to have various advantages over other known arrangements, there still exist various drawbacks. For instance, the entire litter box arrangement has a solid wall construction and in order to create an adequate sealing area between the cover member and the base to avoid any litter granules falling out while the unit is rotated, the walls have to be made fairly thick which adds to manufacturing costs. In addition, the cover member is not securely latched to the base to avoid the possibility of spilling the entire contents of the box. Furthermore, the screen is affixed to the cover and this can be a cumbersome arrangement when attempting to thoroughly clean the screen itself.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,522,150 discloses a cat litter housing, large enough to accommodate a cat, which includes a removable drawer-like container having a screen bottom which is mounted in the upper portion of the housing. The support for the removable container blocks the area between one side of the housing and container while the other side remains open so that when the housing is rotated, the litter flows along the side wall of the housing and into the container. When the housing is rotated back into the upright position, the particulate litter drops through the screen bottom of the container while solid waste and agglomerated litter remain in the container where it can be removed and disposed of by withdrawing the container from the housing.
The arrangement shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,522,150, while allowing for the removal of waste through the drawer-like container, requires a relatively large housing in order to accommodate the pet and, therefore, is cumbersome and difficult to transport.
Therefore, there exists a need in the art for a litter box arrangement which overcomes certain problems associated with the prior art. More specifically, there exists a need for a litter box arrangement which can be easily manipulated to filter out waste without the potential of litter granules leaking or the entire contents spilling, and which provides a construction that facilitates cleaning of the box.